Cold Chilling at the Halladay Inn

Let me propose something. Let me propose the premise that J.P. Riccardi is about to outhink himself on the Roy Halladay front. He wants the moon and the stars coming back in return. And rightfully so. You get a pitcher of Halladay's caliber coming back for 2010.

That being said? He's treading dangerous ground. Why? Because he's letting offers pass that many would consider strong hauls for the pitcher. Philly has an offer of J.A. Happ, Michael Taylor, Carlos Carrasco, and Jason Donald. Put this another way.

J.A. Happ is a pitcher who's been strong in a hitters park. Michael Taylor killed pitchers dead in his half-season of AA. Carrasco? He's had to deal with a .330 BABIP and bad luck with homers. And Jason Donald is struggling after coming back from an injury.

It's not a 12 out of 10 in terms of the highway robbery scale, but Michael Taylor's coming quickly and coming strong. Happ would be moving to a pitchers park, which would help offset any changes in talent. Carrasco is having a fluky season of bad luck. And Jason Donald is kind of sucky this year, but that's beside the point.

The point is, Riccardi is not going to get anywhere near a haul that he could get this season if he decides that he's going to wait until next year. The Indians got two players who might be worth a damn for Sabathia. If he's going to wait for someone to blink, he may be sorely mistaken.

And he may lose out on a real chance to help for the future because of it.